Stephen Blood

Fort Wayne Ballet

Chicago, IL

Stephens' Bio

Stephen Blood founded Three Rivers Dance in 2018 to more broadly share the power of professional dance with the Fort Wayne community. He started dancing in a modern based men’s class in high school. His first notable role was performing Paul Taylor’s Cloven Kingdom Quarte under the direction of Maureen Kaddar and Christopher Rutt. He then began his formal dance training at Northern Illinois University where he completed his BFA and his roles included Siegfried in Swan Lake and Spartacus in the act III Adagio. Following NIU, he danced on scholarship with Lou Conte Dance Studio under the direction of Claire Bataille in Chicago and worked as an apprentice for Chicago’s Dance in the Parks. In Fort Wayne, Stephen dances with the Fort Wayne Ballet and teaches at Arthur Murray Dance Center. He has had the privilege to work under the leadership of Karen Gibbon-Browns and with repetitors Kim Sagami and Cameron Basden.

Nathan Crewe-Kluge

SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance

Chicago, IL

Nathan's Bio

Nathan Crewe-Kluge is from a Chicago suburb called La Grange. He began dancing at the age of 5 at Dance Center of La Grange under the direction of Robin Hill. As a teenager, he branched out to other Chicago area studios and programs like the Hubbard Street Youth Program, and the Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago. He went on to train in the Lou Conte Scholarship Program under the direction of Claire Bataille in 2016. Nathan has attended numerous summer intensives, including the Giordano Summer Workshop, the Hubbard Street Summer Intensive, the River North Teen Intensive, the Point Park International Summer Dance program, and the DanceWorks Chicago DanceForce & ChoreoLab Intensives. Nathan performed with Winifred Haun and Dancers as an Associate Dancer in 2016. In 2017 he danced with Chicago Repertory Ballet as a performing apprentice for that season, performing works by Artistic Director Wade Schaaf. He also performed in the River North Elite Choreographic Initiative, and in the Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Elgin Fringe Festivals. Currently, Nathan is 19 and trains at the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance in NY as a freshman. At Purchase, Nathan has already performed with the Purchase Dance Company in works by Merce Cunningham, and Michelle Thompson Ulerich. Nathan is very excited to be dancing with Three Rivers Dance!

Mara Gordon

Fort Wayne Ballet

Manhattan, New York

Mara's Bio

Mara Gordon was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. She started her dance training at The Ailey School and then School of American Ballet. At 12, she studied at Manhattan Youth Ballet (MYB) under the direction of Deborah Wingert and current principal dancer, Daniel Ulbricht. There, she performed in George Balanchine’s Serenade and Divertimento No. 15 and August Bournonville’s Napoli. In addition, Mara has attended summer intensive programs at American Ballet Theater (New York), Gelsey Kirkland Academy, Boston Ballet School, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. In 2013, she studied the University of North Carolina School of Arts (UNCSA) with a Chancellor’s Excellence Scholarship. Some of her featured roles include Paquita, La Bayadere, a soloist in George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, and Cupid the dream scene of Don Quixote. Mara is skilled in sewing and worked part time at UNCSA’s dance costume shop. She enjoys traveling and speaks fluent French and Spanish.

Emily Orzada

Ballet Hartford

Newark, DE

Emily's Bio

Emily Orzada is originally from Newark, Delaware where she began her ballet training at Mid-Atlantic Ballet under the direction of Patrick Korstange. While training at Mid-Atlantic Ballet, she attended many summer intensives including the American Repertory Ballet, the Atlanta Ballet, The Rock School for Dance Education, and Ballet Austin. After high school, she studied at The University of the Arts as a Dance major and was mentored by Michael Sheridan, Eva Szabo, Arantxa Ochoa, Denis Gronostayskiy, and Alexander Iziliaev, along with many other ballet, modern, and jazz instructors. In 2014, Emily joined the Ballet Theatre of Maryland as a trainee with Artistic Director Dianna Cuatto. While at BTM, she performed with the company in their performances of The Nutcracker, A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, Carmen, and Sleeping Beauty, to name a few. During the 2017-18 season, she was an Apprentice at Fort Wayne Ballet. This upcoming season, Emily will be joining Vivid Ballet as a company member.

Hannah Moore

Project Ballet

Fort Wayne, IN

Hannah's Bio

Hannah Moore is a Fort Wayne native and recent graduate from the Academic Conservatory at Project Ballet. Hannah began her dance training through Fort Wayne Dance Collective’s outreach programs and continued onsite at FWDC afterward. In 2013, she began her formal ballet training at Project Ballet under the direction of Beth McLeish where she performed works by Eddy Ocampo, Jill Earthorne-Barr, Marcus Galante, and Melinda Howe. Hannah is a two-time recipient of Project Ballet’s Academic Student of the Year award and received Most Improved Ballet Student of the Year during her sophomore year. Throughout high school, Hannah actively participated in the dance and theater community through teaching, collaborating, performing, and interning. Additionally, Hannah has attended summer programs with Alonzo King Lines Ballet and the National Choreography Intensive on partial and full scholarship, respectively. Hannah will be attending the State University of New York at Purchase College in the fall to double major in Dance and Arts Management. She is thrilled for the Fort Wayne community to have more exposure to art through Three Rivers Dance.

Rachael Gnatowski

Ballet Hartford

Frederick, MA

Rachael's Bio

Originally from Frederick, Maryland, Rachael began her dance training under Joyce Morrison at the Frederick School of Classical Ballet. She continued her training by joining the Urbana High School Dance Company where she was named a Maryland All-State Dancer. Rachael graduated from Mercyhurst University with a B.A. in Dance. Since graduation, she has danced with BalletFleming, directed by Christopher Fleming, and has guested with the Albany Berkshire Ballet and Connect the Dots Dance Company. Rachael is currently a dancer with the Fort Wayne Ballet.

Amy Schuldt

Arthur Murray Dance Centers

Fort Wayne, IN

Amy's Bio

As a Fort Wayne native, Amy graduated from Bishop Dwenger High School, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design from IPFW. Her first foray into ballroom dancing came on a whim in 2007 after a friend introduced her to the notion of teaching dance. After eleven years as a dance professional, Amy is now an Arthur Murray Full Silver certified teacher, the studio’s manager, and a graphic designer for several Arthur Murray’s around the Midwest. She’s danced in the “Dancing with the Fort Wayne Stars” event in 2010, 2011, 2012, & winning in 2014 with Dr. Brian Lee. In 2015, Amy was a national finalist in Arthur Murray’s All-Star’s competition with the area’s team winning second place. When invited, she enjoys teaching dance throughout the Fort Wayne community at such places like Indiana Technical Institute, YMCA, Huntington University, and Bethlehem Lutheran School.

Kramer Snead

Project Ballet

Fort Wayne, IN

Kramer's Bio

Kramer is an alumni of Project Ballet. After graduation, he performed for two years with Ballet Chicago before returning to Project Ballet as a Guest Artist and faculty member. Mr. Snead has attended summer intensives on scholarship with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and Hubbard Street Dance. His Performance credits include principal roles in the following works by George Balanchine: Valse Fantaisie, Who Cares, Square Dance and the Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux.

Joshua Ehinger

Arthur Murray Dance Centers

Fort Wayne, IN

Joshua's Bio

Joshua’s introduction to ballroom dancing came by chance five years ago when his friends bet him he wouldn’t try it. Not only was he out to prove them wrong, he was set to excel in a field he knew little about. As an avid lover and teacher of music, Joshua quickly became an Associate Silver certified teacher through Arthur Murray International, Inc. He is known for his humor and love of teaching lesser known dances, including the Peabody, Charleston, Cumbia, & Drag Blues. Joshua has been a regional finalist in the Arthur Murray All-Star’s competition multiples times, & danced professionally in the 2014 “Dancing with the Fort Wayne Stars” event. He hopes to one day be the franchisee of his own Arthur Murray Dance Studio.